82-year-old Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, who was seen alongside PM Modi and several other VIPs during the foundation-laying ceremony of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya has tested positive for coronavirus, reported NDTV.
The Ram Janambhoomi Temple trust head Mahant Nritya Gopal Das has tested Covid positive.
— Ayush Unnikrishnan (@AyushUnnikrish1) August 13, 2020
He had shared the stage with PM Modi and UP CM on 5th August in Ayodhya.
Photo- Foundation laying stone ceremony on 5th August. pic.twitter.com/cidsw5MjCg
The ceremony which took place on August 5, saw the head of the Ram Mandir trust sharing the stage with 4 people, including the Prime Minister, the CM of UP Yogi Adityanath, chief of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Governor Anandiben Patel.
Ayodhya: #RamTemple ‘Bhoomi Pujan’ concludes.
— ANI (@ANI) August 5, 2020
Stage event to follow shortly. PM Modi, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, UP CM Yogi Adityanath, Governor Anandiben Patel & President of Ram Mandir Trust Nitya Gopal Das will be on stage for the event. #Ayodhya pic.twitter.com/cFCUHkN637
The same report quoted Sarvagya Ram Mishra, District Magistrate of Mathura (where Mahant Nritya Gopal Das is currently at), as saying:
We were informed that Maharaj-ji has some fever, so we sent a team of doctors and they investigated and gave medicines. The fever is normal. He has mild breathlessness and we checked his oxygen level. It is saturated. There is nothing serious. We checked for coronavirus, did antigen test and there is positivity.
Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, who was one of the five persons on stage for the bhoomi pujan for a Ram temple in Ayodhya, has tested positive for COVID-19.
— The Wire (@thewire_in) August 13, 2020
Photographs show him standing near @narendramodi without a mask. https://t.co/B7wgQhhGjO
He also added the CM has given directions for the Mahant to be shifted to Medanta hospital and the arrangements for the same have been made.
Mathura: President of Ram Mandir Trust, Nitya Gopal Das being shifted to Medanta Hospital, after he tested positive for #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/08khlA41rU
— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) August 13, 2020
Earlier, 15 people including a priest at the Ram Mandir had tested positive for the virus.
The Mahant’s health condition is currently stable.
